


Cookie Cutters

by distant_rose



Series: Little Pirates [31]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Wes Jones, Bisexual awareness, Bisexuality, Domestic Fluff, Emma Swan is amazing and accepting mother, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 03:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13472763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distant_rose/pseuds/distant_rose
Summary: Emma and her son Wes have an emotional conversation about life and love while making Christmas cookies.





	Cookie Cutters

**Author's Note:**

> Hi people! I promise I’m not dead. It’s just been crazy with law school and finishing up my CSLB and plotting other fics. I’ve been meaning to write for LP for like a week now and finally kicked my muse into gear. Anyway, recently there’s been chatter on Wes and the fact he’s bisexual and someone asked me when this became a thing and well…it was always a thing but I just hadn’t gotten around to writing it. So, this is basically Wes coming out to his Mom about the fact that he likes guys, specifically one guy in particular.

Emma Swan was turning into her mother.

That was the conclusion she came to as she rolled out the large bowl of cookie dough she had made the day prior. Baking had never been one of her passions, but the mindless work of it made for an excellent stress reliever as she had gotten older; particularly when her family started expanding. Though her children were no longer juvenile by any means, the habit of baking cookies during the holiday season remained; particularly when she was stressed.

And she was unequivocally stressed.

As much as Emma loved the Christmas season, it had always been a period of frantic buying, gift wrap, overbearing family members and weight gain. She had always thought once the children were grown, things would get easier, but it wasn’t the case. If anything, it was harder to find them gifts, significant others were added into the mix alongside grandchildren and of course her mother nagging her on all sorts of holiday plans. So, instead of losing her mind, she baked.

A small pang of nostalgia ran through her as she finished rolling out the dough and went searching for her obnoxiously large cache of cookie cutters. Over the years, she had collected an assortment of shapes, ranging from reindeer to Star Wars figures. When they were younger, the kids had fought over which ones to use; Harrison opting for the traditional Christmas shapes while Wes, Beth and Neddy would argue for others to be included in the holiday lineup. Wes and Ned both had a fondness for the dinosaurs while Beth insisted on the sailboats and skulls.  Emma could still hear the old arguments in her head. “We’re pirates, Mom! What sort of pirate doesn’t have cookies shaped like ships!” Beth would shout, only for Wes to give her a sardonic smile and state that real pirates didn’t eat cookies at all. (This of course would lead to Killian deliberately taking a fresh baked cookie and chewing it loudly while looking their son directly in the eye.)

Lost in old memories, Emma nearly missed the sound of the back door being opened and the light footsteps that made their way into the kitchen. It was the squeak of the old wooden flooring that catch her attention. She immediately looked up to see Wes casually walking into her kitchen as if he still lived with them instead of his small apartment above the music store.

“Hey kid,” she greeted, gathering all the cookie cutters into her arms and offering him a smile.

He returned her greeting with a small smirk and a quick peck on her cheek before taking some of the cutters out of her hold and carrying them over her set up on the opposite counter.

At twenty-one years of age, he had mastered the art of quiet cockiness. Where Killian came off as the most confident man in the world with his witty repertoire, Wes had managed to give off the same sense of self-assuredness with merely a quirk of his lips, a tilt of his head and an arrogant strut that made her want to smack him upside the head. However, at the same time, she was aware of that prideful display didn’t always reflect the thoughts of the man underneath it.

Which is why Emma merely raised her eyebrows at his actions instead of remarking on them. She watched him closely as he picked up his favorite T-Rex cookie cutter and held it up for inspection.

“Making cookies?”

“No, I’m baking pies.”

He gave a sly grin, looked more than a little delighted by her use of sarcasm.

“I missed you, Mom.”

“You saw me Tuesday,” she snorted, raising her eyebrows at him.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t miss you,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders casually. “Need any help?”

“You offering?”

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I wasn’t.” He nodded, tracing his fingers along the plastic shape. There was a slight furrow in his brow; a crack in the facade that exposed that there were more than a few thoughts brewing underneath the surface. “I’m assuming but the lack of noise that Dad and Neddy aren’t home?”

“Your father took your brother to the batting cages over in Rockport.”

“Ah. So they left the Thunderdome.”

“For the evening, yes.”

“All the more reason I stick around and help.”

If he were any one of her other kids, she would have told him to spit out whatever was bothering him by now but she couldn’t do that with him. Wes, like the rest of his siblings, may have had a strong physical resemblance to his father but mentally he was very much like her; guarded and wary. He didn’t like the idea of vulnerability so he had built himself not necessarily walls, but most certainly a few trenches around his heart; an illusion of openness from distance but unreachable when someone got too close. Emma had long since learned to wait for him to bring the drawbridge down himself before approaching.

“I guess, I could use an extra hand,” she said with an overdramatic sigh. “But don’t think for a moment I’m going to let you eat the cookie dough.”

He gave her a smile that said he didn’t believe her. Honestly, she couldn’t blame him because over the years her heart had grown as soft as the dough she had been kneading.

“Dinosaurs still allowed?”

“I was never the one who had the problem with the dinosaurs. Or the sail boats. Or even the weird Darth Vader cookies.”

“Well, Har’s a bit of an OCD prick sometimes.”

“I really wish you both wouldn’t be so antagonistic,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Honest to god, none of you seem to realize how fortunate you are to have each other.”

“He started it.”

Emma’s eyes nearly rolled out of her skull at the words. She had been hearing them for the past two decades. She briefly wondered if it was their family motto.

“Seriously? What are you five?”

“In Martian years, maybe.”

She approached with the rest of the cookie cutters and gave him a light smack on the head, privately thankful that he had inherited Killian’s height rather than her father’s. While she had to stand on her tiptoes to admonish Harrison and Ned, Wes was at a height where she had to barely lift.

“Where did you learn to be such a smart ass?”

The smirk on Wes’s face grew three sizes larger and he opened his mouth to respond but she stopped him. She shook her head and placed her hand over his mouth.

“Never mind. Don’t answer that,” she said sternly before pulling away.

“You did ask…”

“Just be a good boy and make your stupid dinosaur cookies!”

“Actually, dinosaurs being stupid is a misconception. The T-Rex actually had a pretty large brain by Mesozoic standards. It’s brain was actually bigger ours but the cerebrum was smaller…”

Her lip twitched at his words and she gave him a sarcastic smile.

“You pleased with yourself right now?”

“Exceedingly.”

“Good. Now shut up and make the damn cookies.”

“If you’re going to go all ‘children should be seen and not heard’ on me, I will kindly remind you that I am no longer child,” he responded in an irritatingly blasé tone.

“Believe me, Westley, I’m more than aware. Especially since you no longer live in my house.”

His entire posture stiffened at the comment and she immediately regretted her words.

“Was that your roundabout way of asking me to leave? I can go.”

“No, no, no. It wasn’t. Wes, this is your home as long as you want it to be. You know that right, kid?” she responded, gently her tone.

He nodded, but the tension didn’t leave his shoulders. She placed a hand on top of his and gave him what she hoped as an encouraging smile. He returned it with a weak one of his own that chipped at her heart a bit.

They worked in silence, cutting out shapes and placing them on various tin sheets. She deliberately made a few sailboat cookies in full view of her son, which caused the corners of his mouth to lift silently; obviously remembering his childhood squabbles with his sister.

As she rolled out a new batch for them to work with, Wes placed the T-Rex cooke cutter down on the counter and picked up the triceratops one that had been Ned’s favorite when he was younger. Briefly, Emma wondered how much longer he was going to stew on whatever was in his head.

Apparently not much longer as he placed the dinosaur back down on the counter and turned towards her, body steeled for action and face set in determination, as if prepared for battle.

“I kissed Gideon,” he forced out as she was riffling through the Star Wars shapes, trying to decide between a Yoda head and a Stormtrooper helmet.

Ah. She wasn’t surprised, not even be long shot. She knew he would be mortified to know it, but Emma had been waiting for this conversation to come up since the boys were fourteen years old and she realized that Gideon Gold’s feelings towards her son went beyond those of friendship. For years she had watched the other boy look at Wes with yearning doe eyes and had seen his pained expression as he watched Wes continue his turbulent relationship with Bobbi Mills. Emma had also seen how attached Wes was to his best friend but he seemed unaware of exactly how attached he was most of the time. She had expected this moment to come much sooner, but unfortunately Wes was as in touch with his feelings as much as she was. In other words, barely at all.

She didn’t even pause or even look up for her search, deciding the occasion called for something more benign like a candy cane or a puppy dog. She could crush some peppermints and use them as a topping instead of a red sugar.  Lord knew how much Wes loved them.

“Oh,” she said lightly after a moment. “And how was it?”

A long pause followed and she could feel his eyes pinning her with an intense stare. She refused to break her nonchalant demeanor over this, turning to face him with a raised eyebrow when he didn’t answer her question. His cheeks reddened. He leaned back and scratched behind his ear nervously.

“Umm…alright I guess. Wet.”

She nodded understandingly.

“I’ve found most kisses can be pretty wet,” she responded as she picked up the candy cane cookie cutter and pressing it into the dough. “But the more important question is did you enjoy it?”

“Ummm…yeah…I did…I mean it was good...for a first kiss that is.”

“Sounds like you need more practice then,” she replied with a sly grin.

He opened his mouth to reply, lips forming around words that didn’t come. After a moment his mouth shut with a loud click and she was certain this was the first time she had ever seen her son so speechless.

“You’re…okay with this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Gideon is a good boy. He’s been doing his best keep your ass out of the fire for as long I can remember. Practically family already. I could honestly think of worse in-laws, granted if you ever marry the poor guy, we might need two separate ceremonies for his family and ours. I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix alcohol, your father and Rumpelstiltskin. That would be tempting fate.”

His face practically turned purple at her words and choking noises started emitting from his throat. She wondered if a piece of dough was lodged in his throat and if she needed to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him.

“We haven’t even gone on a date yet and you’re already planning a wedding?”

“Please, I’m not your grandmother. You don’t need to worry about any big binders full of wedding details. It’s just…I know you. And if you didn’t have any serious feelings then you wouldn’t have told me about it. I’m not blind, Westley. I know since you and Bobbi broke up that you’ve had numerous…liaisons…I’m old, not stupid. But not once have you ever spoken anything about them and now here you are panicking over a kiss.”

“I’m not panicking,” he said defensively.

She snorted. “That wasn’t even remotely close to convincing.”

“I’m not.”

“Yeah okay, Buttercup. Pull the other one.”

He scowled at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He looked more like a pouty little kid than a man in his early twenties and it was more amusing than it should have been.

“I’m not panicking,” he repeated slowly, wetting his lips. “I’m…just confused.”

“It’s okay to be confused. It’s even okay to be scared. What’s not okay is just letting it consume you while you do nothing.”

“I mean…we’ve been friends for…I don’t know how long…”

“You’ve been stuck at the hip since you were both babies,” she replied with a small smile. “It was the cutest thing in the world. You used to grab hold of his shirt and would cling to him as you were learning to walk. I can’t tell you how many pictures Belle would send me of the two of you cuddled up.”

“Right. Well, we were friends and now...”

“And now, you’re realizing what you thought was friendship might have been something a little deeper,” she finished. “And it was, you kinda just didn’t realize it.”

The scowl returned to his lips. “Thanks Mom.”

“Just telling you the truth. You, kid, are unfortunately more like me than you realize. It means while you’re pretty much a badass, you’re also kinda dumb when it comes to emotions. It took me ages to admit I loved your father.”

He opened his mouth again and Emma expected an inappropriate joke to come out, considering how uncomfortable he seemed to be during this conversation. It was something she was prone to do when she felt too much under the microscope. However, he seemed to think better of whatever he was going to say and promptly shut it. 

“There’s also Bobbi…” he said after a moment, tugging on his ear.

“You still have feelings for her too,” she guessed. As long as she could remember Bobbi Mills and her son had the most on-and-off again relationship. They would be together for months on end and then break up over some absurd fight, only to get back together within the next month. Though Emma wondered if this one would be a permanent one, considering the fact they had remained broken up for more than three months now and Wes had finally realized his feelings for his other best friend.

He nodded wordlessly, looking down at the counter as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

“Well…you can’t say you don’t have a type.”

He rubbed his temples, looking both embarrassed and impossibly tired. She wanted to tell him how impressed she was with him at this moment. She couldn’t imagine being able to handle this kind of talk at that age but at the same time, she had no one who had been willing or even patient enough to try to understand what was going on in her head.

“Have you ever held strong feelings for two people at the same time?”

She paused at the question, frowning. She was silent as she mulled over his question in her mind. Immediately her mind when back to the childish posturing by Killian and Neal during their time in Neverland. She had held attraction for her husband then and a small tiny part of her had held a small candle for Neal, but she had never been conflicted over it. No matter how much her parents had pushed her towards her ex, she would have never gotten back too together with Neal. That ship had sailed when he left her to rot in prison.

“No…” she said after a moment. “I can’t say I have.”

“I’m fucked.”

“No, you’re not.” She turned towards him, raising her arms so she could gently cradle his face. “Listen to me, there’s nothing wrong with loving someone or two or even three people. Those feelings are okay. It’s what you do with them that matters.”

“What do I do, Mom?” She had never heard his voice sound so small.

She brushed the fringe out of his face. No matter how many times she begged, her son refused to cut his ridiculously long hair. Though she knew that she was to blame for that one. The head-shaving incident may have been nearly a decade ago but it was still fresh in her son’s mind. She didn’t think he was going to get over it any time soon.

“I don’t think this is nearly as complicated as you think it is,” she said quietly. “I mean, I understand you’re probably always going to have feelings for Bobbi, but I think that relationship has officially gone through its paces and it’s time to give Gideon a chance.”

“You’re seriously pushing me towards a guy?”

Emma gave him an impatient look.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with loving someone, Westley Graham Jones. No matter what they look like and what they are. Love is love,” she said firmly. “And it’s not like this is something wrong or new to us. We’ve never had a problem with people loving who they love. Your sister has dated women before.”

“Yes, like one. She’s only had serious relationships with men.”

“That doesn’t necessarily negate her having an attraction to women though,” she said pointedly. “Just like your attraction to Bobbi doesn’t negate your attraction to Gideon. Feelings are feelings. And sexuality is something that isn’t black and white. People are going to want to put you in boxes. Don’t let them dictate your life, kid.”

When he didn’t say anything in response, she sighed and pulled him into a tight hug. He stiffened at first, not expecting the contact but after a few seconds, he melted and shifted to wrap his arms around her. She rubbed circles into his back, thinking on the numerous amount of times she had done so when he was smaller. No matter how old or how big he got, he was going to always be her baby.

“I love you,” she murmured quietly. “And I will always love you. No matter what. That’s never going to change. Ever.”

“I know. I love you too, Mom.”

“Good,” she sighed. “And at risk of sounding like your grandmother, I don’t give a rat’s ass who you love as long as they are good to you and you are happy. Your happiness and wellbeing is literally all I care about. I don’t care if your significant other is an alien.”

Wes’s body shook with quiet laughter at her words.

“I don’t think Grandma would ever say rat’s ass.”

“You would be surprised,” Emma said dryly before pulling away and smiling up at her son. “Now, I don’t know about you but I think I’ve hit my emotional quota for the day.”

He chuckled at her. “Yeah, I think I hit it about ten minutes ago.”

She gave him a good natured whack on the shoulder before grabbing her rolling pin again.

“Well, I’m done torturing you. Now, let’s make some cookies, eat some dough and contract salmonella.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan. Including the salmonella bit.”

“Yeah, well, just letting you know right now, salmonella is not a good enough excuse to miss Sunday dinner. You’re coming and you’re bringing your boyfriend with you.”

“Not even if I’m on my death bed?”

“Especially then.”

“Well, there goes my evil plan.”

“What can I say, kid. Evil never wins.”


End file.
